Generally, a typical computer has, on one motherboard, a central processing unit (CPU) and a read-only memory (ROM), such as an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) or an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), which contains a basic input/output system (BIOS) program.
BIOS programs are programs that control inputs and outputs in hardware in computers at the lowest level when the computers are booted up. One computer is provided with one or more BIOS programs. BIOS programs initialize hardware components in the computer, such as a CPU, a memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), and option cards, and call a boot loader.
Hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, BIOS programs are also referred to as the BIOSes.
In a single computer provided with a plurality of BIOSes, a management table is used to specify which one of the BIOSes is to be used (loaded) for booting up that computer. Which BIOS is to be used is set by a system administrator, based on a configuration of hardware in the computer and the like.
In a computer provided with a plurality of BIOSes, upon a power-on, a CPU is reset and a BIOS to be loaded is then identified, based on a management table. The identified BIOS is then read from a ROM, and the BIOS is started. The CPU then accesses components on a motherboard in accordance with the BIOS, and a boot-up process is executed on the computer.
Upon update of BIOSes on computers, a BIOS update program is executed on each of the computers.
In a large-scale information processing system wherein dozens to hundreds of computers are present, executing a BIOS update program on the respective computers is quite annoying.
Some techniques for simplifying update of BIOSes have been proposed, wherein programs and setting information are distributed from a management server to all of target computers for achieving automatic update of a BIOS.
With such techniques, however, a system administrator has to check hardware configurations of the respective target computers, such as types of the computers, and CPUs, memory devices, extension cards, etc., which are present in those computers. Based on the configuration information, the system administrator generates setting for the automatic update of the BIOS.
Additionally, after update of a BIOS is completed on the plurality of computers is updated from the management server, the computers need to be shut off, in order to activate the update of the BIOS on the computers.